Hepatic capillariasis in children: report of 3 cases in Brazil.

Abstract

Abstract. Capillaria hepatica is a helminth that may cause an extremely rare condition of parasitic hepatitis. Only 29 cases have been published, 2 of them in Brazil. We report here 3 cases of children in Brazil with massive hepatic capillariasis who presented the characteristic triad of this type of infection, i.e., persistent fever, hepatomegaly, and eosinophilia. The diagnosis was made by liver biopsy. All children responded well after treatment with thiabendazole (case 1), albendazole (case 3), and albendazole in combination with a corticoid (case 2). Case 1 has been followedup for 24 years, an event not previously reported in the literature.

Enteroparasites and commensals among children in four peripheral districts of Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais

“…These cases presented the characteristic trio of the true infection, i.e. persistent fever, hepatomegaly, and eosinophilia 26 . Human hepatic capillariasis, caused by the ingestion of embryonated eggs, may vary from mild to severe in intensity, and sometimes it can be fatal.…”

“…Human hepatic capillariasis, caused by the ingestion of embryonated eggs, may vary from mild to severe in intensity, and sometimes it can be fatal. Some of the more common signs and symptoms include the classical trio described above, plus splenomegaly, pneumonitis, fever, extreme weakness, constipation, abdominal distension and, sometimes, ascites and malnutrition 26 . No eggs appear in the host feces except in cases of spurious Capillaria hepatica infection acquired by ingestion of non-infective immature eggs 1 .…”

Prevalence of Hepatic Parasites in Korean Wild Rats (Rattus norvegicus) and Their Association With Pulmonary Arteriolar Medial Hypertrophy

“…6,13,18,24,27 Although human infection is rare, it is reported to be relatively more frequent in children. 3,4,7,22,31 The prevalence of C hepatica infection in rodents is reported worldwide with variable infection prevalence ranging from 7.9% to 88.0%. 6,21,23,32,33,37 In the present study, 23.6% of captured wild rats from the selected areas of Korea were infected with C hepatica.…”

“…C hepatica is an important zoonotic parasite, 5 and its infection has been documented in more than 40 mammalian species, including rodents, 6 dogs, 18 cats, 24 nonhuman primates, 13,27 and humans. 3,4,22,31 C fasciolaris is the larval form of the cestode Taenia taeniaformis, also known as the cat tapeworm. 11,20 The pathogenesis of liver diseases caused by these two parasites is distinct and unique according to their life cycles.…”

Estudo da prevalência da Capillaria hepática (syn. Calodium hepaticum) em humanos e roedores em uma área urbana de Porto Velho, Rondônia, Brasil.

“…Figura 5 -Microfotografia eletrônica mostrando detalhes da superfície do ovo da C. hepatica................................................................................................................................. 22 Figura 9 -Nessa microfotografia apresentada por Sawamura et al (1999) em seu trabalho acerca de três crianças portadoras de capilariose hepática, observe o verme curvo parcialmente destruído pelo intenso processo inflamatório. Há alguns ovos dentro do verme e outros no tecido hepático circundante (hematoxilina e eosina, aumento original de 100x).. Figura 14 -Os mastócitos (cabeça de seta) e miofibroblastos (seta) são simultaneamente detectados dentro dos septos fibrosos (F) e ao redor da veia central (C Figura 24 -Capturas de dois roedores de pequeno porte realizadas com ajuda de armadilha do tipo livetrap "Tomahawk", tendo como isca banana, pão e amendoim.…”